Epilogue
Eight Years Later
"What in the world?" I blinked as Amanda burst through my apartment door like a hurricane.
She didn’t knock. She didn’t call. She just barged in with wild eyes and flushed cheeks, breathing hard like she’d just run a marathon or maybe fought a dragon.
I set my laptop gently on the counter and stood from my stool, my fingers still tingling from the speed I’d been typing with.
"Amanda?" I asked cautiously, already sensing this wasn’t a social visit. "Is everything okay?"
She glared at me, lips pursed. “No. No, it is not okay.”
Uh-oh.
“What happened?” I approached her slowly, like she might explode if I moved too fast.
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Then, with the most Amanda-like drama, she flopped down on the couch and groaned loudly.
“I broke up with Noah.”
My eyes widened. “Wait. What?”
“I said, I broke up with Noah!” she cried again, tears already spilling as if her eyes had just gotten the memo.
My stomach dropped. Amanda and Noah had been together for... well, forever. Or at least it felt that way. I sat beside her, grabbing a tissue box and offering it to her. “Tell me everything.”
She sniffled, wiping her cheeks. “He said he didn’t know if he wanted to get married. After all this time, Em! Eight years! He still doesn’t know?!”
I winced. That hurt.
“I wasted so much time,” she whispered. “I thought he was it. I thought we were endgame.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “You didn’t waste anything. You loved. You grew. You learned. That matters, Amanda.”
She didn’t reply. She just hugged me tighter. And then, a second later, she pulled back, wiped her face clean with fierce determination and stood.
“Let’s go out.”
“Out?” I blinked. “Like... right now?”
“Right now,” she said with a sniff. “I need banana bread. It’s either that or a shot of tequila, and frankly, I don’t want to end up dancing on someone’s table again.”
I laughed despite the tension. “Okay, banana bread it is.”
Amanda had always been that friend. The one who held me when I fell apart at sixteen, when my world crashed over and over again. She was there through the heartbreaks, the missteps, the days I wanted to quit everything. Now, it was my turn to be there for her.
We hopped into her car, the air heavy but our silence comforting. Familiar. We drove through the city we’d grown up in, now peppered with new buildings and shops. The streets carried memories—some loud, some quiet. As we passed our old high school, Amanda scoffed.
“Remember how you used to hide in the library just to avoid Daniel?”
I groaned. “Don’t remind me. He had that ridiculous lisp and still called me 'Emlee.'”
She chuckled softly. “Those were the days.”
She directed me toward a fancy diner I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t our usual spot for banana bread, and I glanced at her skeptically.
“You sure this place has banana bread?”
“Just go in,” she said, giving me a small smile.
I narrowed my eyes but didn’t push. I parked the car and stepped out. The diner had that modern-meets-retro vibe. Shiny black-and-white tiles, warm lighting, and an eerie silence.
The moment I walked in, the lights went out.
“What the—”
I froze, heart in my throat. A soft piano melody floated through the darkness.
Was this some kind of horror movie? Should I bolt?
Before I could decide, the lights flickered back on, and I gasped at the sight before me.
Balloons. Hundreds of white and gold balloons floated above and around me. Roses lined the tables. And right in the middle of the room, a giant white card stood tall, glimmering under the lights.
Will you marry me, Emily?
My hand flew to my mouth.
Behind me, the door creaked open. Amanda walked in, hand-in-hand with Noah. Luca strolled in next, grinning beside his boyfriend—Jeremiah, the same sweet guy from Adam’s college days.
My dad stepped in, holding hands with Alessia, his new girlfriend who’d somehow won me over with her quirky charm and obsession with tarot cards.
Even my mom appeared, elegant as ever, giving me a brief but heartfelt hug.
I turned around again, heart thumping wildly.
And then, like a scene from a dream, Adam stood up from behind the counter, where he’d apparently been hiding. He walked toward me slowly, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
Tears immediately sprang to my eyes. It had been four long years of distance. Long calls, video chats, missed birthdays, stolen weekends. And now he was here. In front of me. Looking at me like I was the only person in the world.
“Hey, Em,” he said softly.
I laughed through my tears. “Hey, Adam.”
He got down on one knee, pulling out a small velvet box.
My breath caught.
“I know it’s been a long time,” he began, voice shaking slightly. “I know life took us in different directions, and the distance hasn’t been easy. But not a day went by that I didn’t think about this moment. About you.”
The box opened, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.
“I love you. I have loved you since the first time you cried your heart out at that volleyball court, I love your terrible jokes, your obsession with late-night cereal, and the way you always hum when you’re writing.”
I let out a small sob, covering my mouth again.
“I want a life with you, Em. The good, the bad, the in-betweens. So will you marry me?”
My legs felt weak. I turned to Amanda, who was now openly crying, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen this coming.
My heart felt like it was bursting.
“Yes,” I whispered.
Adam’s smile widened. “Yes?”
“Yes!” I said again, louder this time.
He slid the ring onto my finger and stood, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into the kind of kiss that makes time stop.
The room erupted with cheers.
Amanda ran to hug me next. “I can't believe you didn’t suspect a thing!”
I laughed, crying. “You’re evil. I thought you were heartbroken.”
She grinned. “I am. But not about Noah. I’m heartbroken that I couldn’t film your face when the lights came on!”
Luca came over next, beaming. “You’re moving to LA now, right? No more excuses!”
I rolled my eyes. “Let me enjoy my engagement first, will you?”
Everyone mingled, hugging, laughing, sipping champagne. It was everything I didn’t know I needed.
Eventually, Adam pulled me aside, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“You didn’t see it coming at all, did you?”
“Not even a little,” I admitted. “You sneaky, sneaky man.”
He kissed my forehead. “I had help.”
“You’re lucky I didn’t faint.”
He chuckled. “You’d still have said yes from the floor.”